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Just when you thought IP networks couldn’t get any smarter, Ribbon Communications announced today it has agreed to purchase the business and technology assets of Anova Data, a provider of a cloud-native, streaming analytics platform focused on network and subscriber optimization and monetization.

This acquisition makes sense in the context of Ribbon’s strategy to sell increasing value into its impressive customer base, which includes hundreds of the world’s largest carriers and service providers, as well as large organizations including the US Department of Defense, the City of Los Angeles, and massive, distributed enterprises including hospitals, financial services companies, universities, technology companies and more.

The company said in its press release, “these products in combination with existing Ribbon solutions are expected to deliver mobile, fixed and enterprise customers an enhanced suite of applications that utilize big data analytics and machine learning to provide prescriptive insights on subscriber behavior and network performance.”

Last year, Ribbon rolled out Ribbon Protect, a security offering designed specifically to strengthen fixed, mobile and over-the-top voice networks and applications, which it further advanced by acquiring Edgewater Networks. It became what some analysts now call the leader in enterprise session border controllers (eSBCs) extending the company’s position as one of the largest carrier SBC and SIP networking services providers in the industry.

While few specifics were included in the announcement, the company said it “believes it can better engage customers with expanded offerings to open new revenue streams, provide advanced service assurance, and improve overall subscriber experiences,” which may signal a more aggressive move into the fast growing world of “CX” as the real time communications industry becomes even more competitive on the cusp of 5G and growth of not only connected people, but connected things.

“These assets perfectly complement our existing security and analytics platform, Ribbon Protect,” said Fritz Hobbs, president and CEO of Ribbon Communications. “Anova Data’s cloud-native solutions, which already boast several global Tier 1 deployments, are expected to help us further expand our offerings to mobile service providers with a comprehensive solution set that combines subscriber-level analytics with real-time network optimization and intelligence.”

Ribbon has announced a variety of partnerships over the last 12 months since Hobbs became CEO after the combination of GENBAND and Sonus, which created Ribbon. With its cloud communications platform Kandy, Ribbon is well known for being a leader in consolidating the telecom infrastructure industry, particularly in the network and application security space.

“Our powerful machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) analytics solutions have been successful in helping our global Tier 1 mobile service provider customers gain the insightful, actionable intelligence that allows them to deliver enhanced subscriber experiences, while maximizing network efficiencies,” said John St. Amand, Chief Executive Officer of Anova Data. “This acquisition allows us to capitalize on both Ribbon’s global presence and large service provider customer base, while dramatically expanding the reach of Anova Data’s offerings.”

It was in June 2015 when Anova announced its own M&A activities, bringing together Movik Networks and Zettics, saying at the time, “operators are continuously put on their heels due to escalating subscriber demands, the exponential rise in available content and applications coupled with their limited available resources.”

It is a fact that not only are the number of subscribers and applications growing overall in the real time communications world, but that incumbent carriers and service providers have been confronted with challengers including those offering over-the-top messaging services (like WhatsApp, Facetime, Skype and Microsoft Teams, and free collaboration platforms including Google Drive, Slack and many more).

Those companies come at communications from a data perspective, but without the experience in building and managing secure infrastructure and delivering QoS including performance and security SLAs that companies like AT&T, Verizon, BT, and hundreds of other telecom giants are extremely good at.

John St. Amand, CEO of Anova Data said of the merger, “The completion of this merger catapults Anova’s technology leadership to the forefront of a tremendous market opportunity topping $5B in 2017 and growing at a CAGR of 26 percent. At the center of this opportunity is the unprecedented growth in subscriber data usage and expectations. Operators require innovation in their service offerings, experience management and network infrastructure to maximize the subscriber experience holistically. Anova’s in-depth insights are critical for monetization, overall customer experience management and intelligent network orchestration.”

The company is positioning the deal as one which reinforces Ribbon’s strategy to expand into network optimization, security and data monetization via big data analytics and machine learning, and a logical fit with Ribbon Protect. The combination delivers a robust, end-to-end solution for real-time communications (RTC) and IP data service assurance, security, optimization and monetization.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the purchase agreement, the equity owners of Anova Data will receive at closing an aggregate of 3.3 million shares of Ribbon common stock in exchange for substantially all the assets and liabilities of Anova Data. Ribbon does not expect that the acquisition will materially affect its financial results in 2019.Arti Loftus is an experienced Information Technology specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the research, writing, and editing industry with many published articles under her belt.

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